Towards Visibility is an historical study on the legitimation process of drawing in contemporary art and curatorial practices.

Drawing is the entry point for this book's examination of a crucial moment in the recent history of exhibitions. It is a vital piece of research, at a time when the medium of drawing has never been so omnipresent, indeed has become one of the most often-displayed mediums in contemporary art spaces. At the same time, drawing surprisingly borrows the format of history painting, the aesthetics of photography and its mechanisms from those of large installations. Thus at a time when the age-old distinction between drawing and other forms of art is tending to disappear or be forgotten, and drawing is displayed and viewed on an equal footing with other artworks, a number of questions need to be addressed. When exactly did the status of drawing change in the eyes of exhibition curators and why did it do so? Since when has a drawing been considered as a contemporary art object on a par with others? And how did the medium become the vector of a generalized curatorial proposition in Europe and the United States?